“You love him?’
“Yes.”
I smiled. “Good.”
She fluttered her wings and tipped her head to one side. “He’s going to help me re-unite the unicorns with the Harpies . . . .”
I didn’t respond to her unspoken words. It would depend on how many of each species were left after this cluster-fuck of plague and demons.
Alex stretched beside me, yawning and kicking each of his legs out, one at a time. “Time to go yet?”
“Soon.”
I crouched by the cave entrance. “You two awake?”
“Rylee, we don’t really sleep. This has been terrible,” Berget said.
“Shit, I’m sorry we couldn’t find you something better.”
Faris snorted. “That wasn’t what you said when I complained.”
“Faris, you’re old enough to be grateful for every day on this side of the veil,” Eve snapped, her beak darting into the opening.
He hollered something I couldn’t make out. “Ease off, Eve.”
She ruffled her feathers. “Stupid vampire.”
I leaned down. “We have incoming hostiles. Supernaturals, and according to Doran, four big, bad, ugly vampires that really want to make my acquaintance.”
“Did he say who?” Faris asked.
“Nope, no names. Just four really old ones. Does it matter who they are?”
“Might. If I know them, I might be able to get us all out in one piece.”
A loud thump behind us spun me around. Marco had returned. And Griffin was on his back. That was not a good sign.
Griffin slid off. “You got about ten minutes before the shambling horde hits here.”
“And sunset?”
“Fifteen minutes.”
Of course. Fucking hell.
The minutes ticking down to sunset pulled at him as if his muscles were being plucked like harp strings. His muscles. Not Faris’s. Damn, the longer he stayed, the more integrated he was into the vampire.
What happens when we don’t remember ourselves? That was quickly becoming his biggest fear. Because despite the supposed truth that he could leave Faris whenever he wanted, he didn’t know how. Faris snorted.
“Won’t happen. I’ll kick you out before then.”
“Faris,” Berget said, “stop talking to yourself, you weirdo.”
“I’m talking to Liam. He’s a chatty boy today.”
Berget went quiet and pulled as far from him as she could, which wasn’t all that far.
What if you can’t?
“Suddenly you’re tired of my company? What’s the matter, wolf, scared?” The sneer in his voice was audible and Liam “leapt” forward as the sounds of fighting erupted above them. He shoved Faris’s being deep into the recesses of the body they shared.
“Berget, how soon can we get out of here?”
“Liam?”
He nodded, knowing that even in the dark she could see him.
“Three minutes. You should be able to feel the sun fading. Like the pull of something on your skin.”
She was right, as soon as she pointed it out he sensed the sun being gobbled up by the night, piece by piece until with a final gulp it was gone. He burst out of the shallow cave and slammed right into a vampire he didn’t know. No hesitation, he used the element of surprise to his advantage, tearing the vampire’s head off in a single motion.
The scene was utter and complete chaos. The supernaturals attacking Rylee were doing so on their last legs. They were cut down as fast as they came at her and Griffin.
There were three other vampires and they spotted him. One actually had the nerve to wave. “Hey, Faris. Nice to see you here, too.” His accent was Spanish and his dark features testified to his heritage.
I can talk them down, let me forward.
“Piss off,” he snarled and leapt into the fray, tearing supernaturals away as if they were children’s toys. Limbs and necks snapped under his hands and it was only when he reached Rylee at the center of the mass that he realized everyone else had stopped fighting. The supernaturals cringed away from him, their eyes wide, bodies shaking.
“Liam?” Rylee asked, but didn’t lower her blades.
A nod. “Time to go.”
“Agreed. Griffin, thank you.” She leaned to kiss Griffin on the cheek. The bastard twisted his head and caught her on the lips.
“Lovely. I see why you bound her, yeah?” He gave Liam a wink, which only made him snarl.
Berget shifted into view, placing herself between Rylee and the vampires on the right. “Where are the Harpies?”
Shit, he hadn’t even noticed they weren’t on the ground. Alex pointed up with one long claw. “They flew.”
Liam didn’t take his eyes from the vampires, and neither did Rylee. Everyone else looked up to the sky. It was then the vampires came at them.
One slammed Berget hard enough that bones cracked, Griffin was thrown high into the air, toward the treetops. Liam put his back to Rylee’s.
“Just like old times.”
“Except you look better now.” She laughed, and his jaw dropped as the first vampire reached him. Alex darted out and grabbed the vampire’s pants leg, jerking him off balance. Liam caught him around the neck with one hand, long greasy hair tangled around the other and pulled.
Except the expected didn’t happen. The vampire laughed. “Keep trying, I like to see you sweat, Faris.”
A grunt behind him and the sound of something hitting the ground. A head most likely.
“I’ve got one fucker dealt with, Liam,” Rylee confirmed for him what was going on. Holding his captive, he spun to face the final vampire with her. Side by side. Where he should have been all along.
I told you so. You are an idiot to think sacrificing yourself was a good idea.
Faris’s tone was relaxed. Far too relaxed for his liking.
He ignored the vampire for the moment. “I can’t pull his head off. Take it, would you?”
He held out the greasy haired bloodsucker so his neck was presented to Rylee. It was then he saw the thing around the vamp’s neck. It was corded with something, and when Rylee’s sword hit it, sparks flew.
“His neck is wrapped in metal.”
They raised their heads to see the last vampire standing quietly in front of them. But they were no longer alone. Berget had gotten up, and Griffin was back in full wolf form.
A whoosh of wings and Eve and Marco were back on the ground.
“Thanks for the heads up.” Rylee took her second sword and drove it into Metal Neck’s chest, slicing him open and removing his heart. Not quite surgeon precise, but close. “That’ll slow him down.”
She wiped her blade and looked at the last vampire.
“You’re outnumbered pretty fucking bad. Perhaps you’d like to take your dumbass and get out of here?”
The vampire, Faris called him Adam, smiled at them. “Outnumbered is not the same thing as outmatched. Surely you must know that, Tracker?”
Liam didn’t like the way the confrontation was going. He grabbed Rylee and all but threw her onto Eve’s back. “Everyone up. Now.”
Alex and Berget scrambled to obey. Griffin gave him a nod and leapt onto Marco’s back. “Take them up.”
“Liam, no!” Rylee yelled as Eve launched into the air, Marco right behind them.
“Come back when we’re done.”
Adam tipped his head. “Have you gone soft, Faris? You always were the piece of shit on the empire’s shoes. But I never thought I’d see you put someone else first.”
Liam pulled hard on his old abilities and the wolf tied to his spirit rushed through his blood stream.
Adam must have sensed something because there was no warning, he was suddenly rushing Liam. Faris took that moment to steal control of his body again, dropping to one knee and rolling so both fists were thrust up into Adam’s belly.
The vampire was shoved high into the air, eyes wide. Faris pulled his cutlass and as Adam fell, took his head in a singl
e slice.
“I never liked him anyway.”
Why did you take control? I had that.
“I know his moves. He used to spar with me.” Faris slid the cutlass home and gave a wave to Eve and Marco. The two Harpies circled low and landed.
Liam shoved his way forward and Faris all but howled as his spirit was stuffed backward. Again.
“I want to talk to my grandfather. Give me that, at least.” He didn’t want to ask permission, yet . . . he was softening toward the vampire. How could he not? He’d seen how horrific Faris’s life had been. What Faris had shared with Rylee had been a drop in the ocean in terms of the horrors he’d faced.
No wonder he was such an asshole.
Thanks.
“I give credit where it’s due.”
Griffin strode toward him.
This was the chance Liam had been waiting for. One last moment. “Before I go. Why didn’t you ever come to help me?”
Griffin swung those disturbingly dark eyes to Faris. “You didn’t need it. You still don’t. You got more of me in you than you have of your own father.”
He stared hard at Griffin. “You were the voice I heard in my head all those times, the Great Wolf, weren’t you?”
His grandfather never answered him with anything other than a slow wink.
He clapped a hand on his grandfather’s shoulder. “One last thing.”
“What?”
“Kiss my mate again, and I’ll have the vampire drain you.” He winked and his grandfather threw back his head and gave a laugh that turned into a howl.
“Boy, you are so like me it should frighten me. You’ll make a good replacement when I’m gone.” He spun and loped away, still laughing.
Rylee approached them, and touched his hand. “Liam, we have to go.”
“Do you know where?”
She shook her head, eyes swirling. “No. The clues he gave us were vague at best and downright encrypted at worst.” A smile lit her lips. “In other words, no worse than any other salvage we’ve been on.”
Smiling a grim smile, he boosted her onto Eve’s back and took his place on Marco’s. She had a point.
One he wouldn’t argue even for a second.
CHAPTER 21
Pamela
I was bound and gagged, and my hands were submerged in a small bucket of water behind me. Blindfolded, I stumbled, and Frank caught my elbow steadying me. Peta was the only one who’d gotten away, and I sent her with one goal. Find Rylee.
“I think she’s putting us on a plane,” Frank said softly, his voice right in my ear. The shuffle of our shoes on tarmac as we were pushed along was the only confirmation I had of his words. With the blindfold on I was at the mercy of Frank, and worse, Milly.
I wanted to burn up the place, unleash all my anger and frustration in a blinding flurry of magic and power until I collapsed. But Orion had been faster than Milly, and I would never have that chance again.
The second Orion knew he was trapped in my body, and was unable to use my magic because of the salt water, he left me and leapt back into poor Milly. She tried to run and we tried to help her . . . but that had only made matters worse. Frank sported a gash down the side of his face and I had been knocked out for . . . I didn’t even know how long.
And now we were trapped once more with no way out. Frank bumped me and the saltwater sloshed out of the container. He’d been doing it the whole way from the mansion. There was only a quarter of the water left now. I curled my fingers up and away from it.
“One more time,” I whispered to him.
“One more time, what?” Milly, no, Orion snapped.
I sniffed, thinking fast. “I want him to tell me it’s going to be okay.”
Orion laughed, the sound ugly and deep in poor Milly’s voice. “Not for you two, it won’t.”
I turned toward the demon’s voice. “What are you going to do with us?”
“Well, darling,” he drawled, a finger touching the side of my neck and trailing down to the top of my shirt. “You two will make for perfect bait. The Tracker will come for you. Why did you think I allowed the cat to leave?”
My throat tightened. We’d been fools to think we could outsmart a demon.
Frank pushed me behind him, which caused the water to slosh out more. “Don’t touch her.”
“Oh, you don’t want to share? If she’s anything like Milly, she won’t mind taking both of us between her legs.”
There was a grunt and the sound of flesh being thumped, and then a flash of brilliant light. “Stop! Don’t hurt him!”
Orion laughed again. “He’s done his job, what have I got to keep him around for?”
“Because if I lose him, you have nothing to stop me.” It was true. If I was on my own, I would fight without thought. With Frank beside me, I had to think about him too.
Silence and then a snort. “Fine. We’ll keep him, for the moment.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Frank, are you okay?”
“The gash just opened up again.” His words were laced with pain.
“I’m sorry.”
“Not your fault.” He took me by the arm and guided me up a set of stairs and into what I could only guess was a plane of some sort. My blindfold was jerked off and we were stuck into seats in the middle of the plane, but across from one another. Sitting was difficult with the bucket strapped to my backside, and I didn’t doubt that was part of my punishment too. However far we were going, I was not going to be given any chance to recoup.
I kept my fingers curled tight, up and away from the last of the salt water. It was a long shot, but if my hands dried I might be able to do something. Anything.
The plane’s engines rumbled and the hunk of steel started to roll. I swallowed hard. “Are you sure it will work with all of us on here?”
“If it doesn’t, we’ll throw the brownie out,” Orion said from the front of the plane. He looked over his shoulder and I didn’t see Milly any longer. I couldn’t. Her eyes were full-on black with embers that glowed red and the twist of her mouth was cruel. Hard.
How could I have been such a fool?
Charlie came down the aisle with a glass of water for Frank. I watched as he took a huge gulp. He swallowed it and then said, “I have to use the toilet.”
Charlie looked from him to me. “Once we’s in the air.”
The brownie sat beside me, a cup of water held to my lips. I sipped it, the cool liquid easing a burning in my throat I hadn’t even noticed. “Can you pour some on my wrists?” I whispered. “They hurt me something fierce.”
Charlie looked at me and shook his head. “No. I don’t trust you, Pamela. You aren’t the girl any of us thought.”
He stood and shuffled away. Shock was the first emotion that hit me, and shame a close second.
“Pamela, he’s wrong. You know that.”
Sobs rippled my chest, making it hard to breathe. I didn’t fight the tears as they drained from my eyes and pooled into my lap. Charlie was right, I’d let everyone down. I’d let the darkness seduce me, believing I was strong enough to face it on my own.
“I always knew something was wrong with her,” I whispered. “I just wanted to believe I was strong enough. That I could face her if something went wrong. To prove I was worth it.”
Frank shifted in his seat. “Pam, stop it! You made a mistake. Sure it was a big one, but you’re just a girl. How could you know? It’s not like you’re smart enough to figure it all out yourself.”
My jaw dropped open and I turned slowly to stare at him. “What did you say?”
“You can’t help it that you’re not as smart as others. You’re blonde, what do you expect?”
“You son of a bitch,” I screamed, so angry I couldn’t think straight. I stood and lurched toward him. He stood too, leaned over and slapped me.
My head snapped to one side so hard that I spun where I stood. And then the cool rush of clean water over my wrists and onto my fingers cracked through my anger.
“I hate you, Frank,” I yelled, sidestepping back to my seat. “Don’t you ever touch me again! I hope you die!”
He gave me a wink and I would have tried to wink too, but my cheek was swelling from his slap and the blow had triggered the pain from my concussion. I carefully reached for my magic. There it was, humming under my skin.
Tiny detail magic was not my strong point, but it was what I had to do now. Sending miniscule tendrils of it through the bindings on my wrist, I unraveled the rope until my fingers were free.
Step one.
But now what?
Charlie shuffled back our way and I stuck my hands behind my back again.
“The master says we’s going to be in the air for another hour. Yous two aren’t to bother him with any more shouting or he’ll throw that one”—he jerked a thumb at Frank—“out the door.”
“Charlie, I . . . I’m so sorry.” My voice broke on the words. “I am so very sorry.”
“Some lessons cost more than others,” he said, his face grim. His peg leg thumped as he turned and sat in the aisle in front of me.
No, it wasn’t Orion. He wasn’t truly here, he just controlled Milly. Milly. I didn’t think there was any way we could save her. I snorted to myself. What was I thinking? There wasn’t any way I could save us, either. I stared out the window, my head pressed against the thick glass. It fogged under my heavy breathing which made me think I was seeing things at first.
A flash of blue scales and a dip of oh-so-familiar wings.
Mentally I reached for Blaz, screaming his name.
Pamela? What are you doing?
I let him see inside my mind, something I’d never done before. He got pictures of everything that happened. Of Milly and Orion, of Frank and me almost duping the demon with the salt water.
The plane is too fast, even now I’m being left behind. You have to jump, I’ll catch you both. Trust me.
There was no time to think this through, no time to consider the possibilities. I suddenly knew how Rylee felt when she said that the moments coming at her gave her no choice.
I leapt from my seat and grabbed Frank. “Hang on, Charlie!”
What happened next was a blur. I knew I was killing people, but maybe I’d be able to kill Orion too. Charlie took one look at me. “I hope yous knows what yous doing.” Then he grabbed my leg as Orion spun in his seat, eyes blazing.
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